Thursday, October 31, 2013

I Once Was The Great Pumpkin - An fM Tradition

It
was a dark and snow stormy night. The witching hour had finally come to
pass. I gazed at myself in the mirror - the "Great Pumpkin" look was me
all over.The trip in this
blizzard would be a long one and I had to arrive at my destination in
time for Halloween. As we drove, I hung my head out the passenger door
window to help the driver follow the lines painted on the road. I
couldn't see my hand in front of my face. I was developing freezer burn,
but that was the least of my worries. I kept yelling "hurry" but thanks
to the weather there was no hurry this Halloween.At last, the
lights of my destination appeared. I was met at the door by a woman
wearing a nurse's uniform. "Great costume," I remarked. She was not
amused."How far along
is your pumpkin?" she asked. "Nine months, six days," I answered. "Is it
your first pumpkin?" First and most likely last I thought. "Yes," I
answered. She informed me I had probably made a mistake in calculating
my pumpkin growth chart, as my pumpkin wasn't large enough to be
delivered for this Halloween celebration."Go for a walk," she suggested. "Your pumpkin will be late for the celebration. No Halloween winner for you this year."Walk? She wanted
someone dressed as the "Great Pumpkin" to walk. How long, how far?
Okay, this pumpkin was getting really heavy and it was evident I would
soon be viewing it from a spot on the corridor floor.Where did that
woman dressed as a nurse go? All the doors down the corridor were
closed. I started opening them, one by one, looking for the pumpkin
patch.Aha! A man
dressed as a doctor was placing a recently arrived pumpkin in the patch.
"I've got another one for you," I called to him. The woman in the
nurse's uniform shook her head and whispered to the doctor. "Check her
anyway," he ordered.The disbelieving
woman in the nurse's uniform reluctantly checked and found to her
surprise that my pumpkin was well on its way. Minutes later I
participated in the Halloween celebration. A new pumpkin for the patch."A witch or a warlock?" I asked the doctor. "A princess," he replied.

My little
princess was six years old before she realized that people did not come
to our door on the 31st of October asking for candy because it was her
birthday, but rather because it was Halloween.It is her favorite holiday and she firmly believes that everyone should celebrate because it is her birthday after all.This
was originally published for the 34th Carnival of Genealogy, October
2007. It's one of my favorites. A footnoteMaven Halloween Tradition.
Happy Birthday Tracy.